Warning signal device



Feb. 2, 1937. G, LEWI 2,069,583

WARNING S IGNAL DEVICE Filed June 7, 1932 Geocge [Lea/21 11v VENTUKPatented Feb. 2, 1937 PATENT OFFICE WARNING SIGNAL DEVICE George I.Lewis, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor of two-fifths to Frederick P.Hockland, Cincinnati, Ohio Application June 7, 1932, Serial No. 615,851

Claims.

An object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive electricallyoperated born that will emit a loud but mellow note simulating that ofthe more elaborate and expensive air operated 5 horns now in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a horn having the abovestated characteristics, which is simple, compact, and inexpensive ofmanufacture and practically free of wearing parts.

A further object is to provide a novel, simple, and readily accessibleadjusting means for altering the tone of a horn of the above statedcharacter.

The invention consists in other features that will appear from thefollowing description and upon examination of the drawing. Warningsignal devices that contain the invention may partake of different formsand may be varied in their details and still embody the invention. Toillustrate a practical application of the invention I have selected adevice embodying the invention as an example of the various featuredstructures and the details of such structure that contain the inventionand which describe a selected device hereinafter. The device selected isshown in the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the signal device of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmental cross-sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view, on a reduced scale, taken on line 44of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 3.

The device of the invention comprises in general a coil orelectro-magnet 8, and an armature 9 rigidly supported upon a suitablevibratory member it which may be a diaphragm, a circuit breakermechanism I2, and a vibratory member or diaphragm 13 having a shockabsorbing connection M with the primary diaphragm or vibratory memberID. The electro-magnetic coil and the circuit breaker may be of anyapproved or suitable type. The foregoing elements preferably are encasedwithin a housing consisting of the body 15 which has an end plate or capl6 between which is secured the periphery of the vibratory member Iii.The securing means may be constituted of peripheral flanges I1 and 18integral with the members [5 and I5, respectively, and a series of boltsor screws l9, arranged to pass through the perforate flanges and theperipheral portion of the diaphragm II).

A characteristic of the improved warning sig-' nal or horn is theprovision of a resilient or shock absorbing connection l4 between thepri- 5 mary and secondary diaphragms or vibrating members It) and I3.The vibratory members consist of tuned metal or other suitable discs,the disc l3 being of very thin (approximately .010 inch) metal, and thedisc It! being of heavier construction (approximately .25 inch) towithstand the powerful vibratory movement of the armature which would bedestructive to any very thin diaphragm connected directly thereto.

Although the shock absorbing device may be made in various forms, apreferred form thereof is illustrated clearly in Figs. 2 and 4, wherein20 indicates a substantially fiat leaf spring (.025 inch thick) havingthe ends. 2lthereof riveted or otherwise fixedly secured as at 22, uponthe extensions or ends 23, of a shock absorbing spring support or bridgemember 24 which is fixedly secured to the vibratory member I0. Forpurposes of explanation, there is shown a rivet means 25, whereby thebridge member, the diaphragm I0 and the armature 9 are securely fixedtogether for unitary vibratory movement. The rivet passes throughperforations provided in each of said members, and through a spacer orwasher 26 interposed between the bridge member and the vibratory member[0. It is to be understood that the vibratory member It) need not becircular or disc-like in shape, but may be in the form of a resilientbar or plates extending diametrally of the housing member.

The electro-magnetic coil 8 may be enclosed within a suitable cupshaped. casing 21, which, with the body of the coil, may be securelyfas-, tened to the rear wall 28 of the housing member I6 bymeans of asuitable rivet or equivalent securing means 29. The housing 21 may becut away or slotted, as at 30 to permit a lug or extension 3| of thearmature 9 to extend therebeyond. This lug or abutment may be integralwith or fixed to the armature, and is so located relative to the circuitbreaker 52 that upon energization of the electro-magnet coil, saidabutment will strike an insulating resilient arm 32 which carries one ofthe contact points 33. Movements of the armature toward the magneticcoil thereby efiects separation of the contact point 33 from a secondcontact point 34 which is fixedly mounted upon a rigid contactsupporting member 35 carried by the housing member H5 or by any otherstationary part of the apparatus. The circuit 66 insulated therefrom bymeans of the insulating washers 42. Intermediate the member and thehousing 16 is disposed a compression spring 43 which tends always toresiliently urge the member 35 toward the head of the screw. Said springserves also to maintain a nut 44 in abutting relationship with thehousing l6, said nut being threadedly received by the threaded end 45 ofthe screw or bolt 38. longitudinally of the bolt 38, the spring may becompressed more or less and the head of the bolt moved toward or fromthe housing member l6 for changing the location of the contact point 34relative to the vibratory contact point 33., The vibratory movements ofthe diaphragm l0 thereby may be altered. It is' to be noted that theopposite end 46 of the contact support 35 is fixedly secured to thehousing member I6 and electrically insulated therefrom. The means forthus securing the end 46 of the member 35 may be a bolt 41. Thecharacter 48 indicates an insulating bolt or terminal which extendsexteriorly of the horn casing, to which bolt electrical connection maybe made to a battery or other suit able source of direct currentelectricity. It may be noted that terminal 48 has electric connectionwith the conductor 31 which supplies current to the electro-magneticcoil 8.

Attention now is directed to a tone adjusting means whereby the thindiaphragm I3 is mechanically connected to substantially the midpoint ofthe leaf spring 20 or shock absorber. Said means :comprises a threadedbolt 50, the head end 5| of which is fixedly secured to the midpoint ofmember 20. The opposite end 52 of the bolt is adapted to threadedlyreceive interior and. exterior nuts or members 53 and 54, respectively,which may be adjusted longitudinally of the bolt by rotating them uponthe threads thereof; The interior nut is providedwith a shoulder 55 thatextends through a, central aperture 56 of the diaphragm l3, and saidshoulder is provided with suitable angularities or projections 5'!whereby a tool, or the fingers, may be applied for rotating the interiornut. is made cup shaped, whereby to surround and cover the shoulder 55.An annular flange 58 of the exterior nut is adapted to abut the exteriorsurface of the diaphragm l3, and to clamp it against the interior nut53. The exterior nut preferably is provided with exterior angularitiesorabutments 59 for receiving a tool or wrench that may be employed fortightening the nut structure. From the foregoing it should be apparentthat the tone of the horn may be readily altered by simply unscrewingand removing the projector 68 and applying a wrench to the nut 54 forremoval thereof, whereupon the interior nut 53 may be adjustedlongitudinally of the bolt. The projector 60 preferably is of along andslender type, and it may be supported forwardly of the diaphragm [3 bymeans of a suitable bell shaped housing 6| that may be employed forjected by the heavy diaphragm.

By adjusting thenut The exterior nut 54 preferably breaker and theelectro-magnetic coil are electrically connected in series in accordancewith maintaining the diaphragm l3 in abutment upon 62 thereof. Screws 63provide a means for maintaining the bell shaped housing in position.

The advantages of the foregoing described device are that an air hornsound can be imitated thereby, without necessitating the use of fragile,numerous and expensive parts such as are found in the air hornstructures. The light weight diaphragm, in the device of this invention,is not subjected to the direct harsh action of the electro- 'magneticvibrator and as a consequence the danger of diaphragm breakageanddistortion is eliminated. In other words the lightdiaphragm receivesits vibratory movement indirectly from the heavy diaphragm by means ofthe shock absorber spring and by means of the air vibrations pro Byutilizing, diaphragms of different tone qualities, either harmonious orout of harmony, some very pleasin and distinctive sounds can beproducedffor the sounds of the diaphragms are emitted simultaneously.

I claim: 7 f

1. In a sound producing apparatus, the

securing the diaphragms at their edges in spaced combination of a pairof spaced diaphragms, means for the casing [5 in the region of the largeopening parallelism, one diaphragm having a normal' higher rate ofvibration than the said other divibrated by the last named diaphragm asmodi fied by the said resilient member to produce another tonal effectby the vibration of the first named diaphragm, a circuit breaking meansfor v controlling the electro-magnetic means and operated by the saidlast named diaphragm whereby the said diaphragms are vibrated atdifferent and characteristic tonal rates to produce different tones atthe same time.

2. In a sound producing apparatus, the combination of a pair of spaceddiaphragms, means for securing the diaphragms at their edges in spacedparallelism, one diaphragm having a normalv higher rate of vibrationthan the said other diaphragm, a resilient metallic .ribbon extending.

parallel to the diaphragms and normally nonbiased with respect to thediaphragms, means for connecting the resilient member at its ends to thecentral portion of one diaphragm, means for connecting the central partof the resilient memher to the central portion of the other diaphragmand. increasingly tensioned by movement of either diaphragm relative tothe other in either direction, an electro-magnetic means for operatingthe last named diaphragm, a circuit breaking means for controlling theelectromagnetic means and operated by the said last named diaphragmwhereby the said diaphragms are vibrated at different and characteristictonal rates at different rates.

3. In a sound producing apparatus, the combination of a shell, a pair ofspaced diaphragms, means for securing the diaphragms at their edges tothe shell and in spaced parallelism, one diaphragm having a normalhigher rate of vibration than the said other diaphragm and phonicallyresponsive to the last named diaphragm, a resilient metallic oblongribbon extending parallel to the diaphragms and normally non-biased withrespect to the said diaphragms, means for connecting the ends of theribbon to the central portion of the last named diaphragm, means forconnecting the central part of the ribbon to the central portion of thefirst named diaphragm, the said ribbon normally non-biased with respectto the diaphragms and increasingly tensioned by movement of onediaphragm relative to the other, an electro-magnetic means for operatingthe last named diaphragm, a circuit breaking means for controlling theelectro-magnetic means and operated by the said last named diaphragm forvibrating the said diaphragms at different rates as reactively modifiedby the resilient member and the first named diaphragm.

4. In a sound producing apparatus, the combination of a shell, a pair ofspaced diaphragms located in the shell, means for securing thediaphragms at their edges in spaced parallelism, one diaphragm having anormal higher rate of vibration than the said other diaphragm, aresilient metallic ribbon-like member having spaced parts rigidlyconnected to the central portions of the diaphragms and normallynon-biased with respect to the diaphragms relative to the other ineither direction, an electro-magnetic means for vibrating the last nameddiaphragm to produce one tonal effect, the first named diaphragmvibrated by the last named diaphragm as modified by the said resilientmember to produce another tonal effect by the vibration of the firstnamed diaphragm whereby the said diaphragms are vibrated at differentand characteristic tone producing rates.

7 5. In a sound producing apparatus, the combination of a shell, a pairof spaced diaphragms located Within the shell, means for securing thediaphragms at their edges in spaced parallelism, one diaphragm having anormal higher rate of vibration than the said other diaphragm, aresilient metallic ribbon-shaped member extending parrallel to thediaphragms, means for rigidly connecting the resilient member at itsends to the central portion of one diaphragm, means for rigidlyconnecting the central part of the resilient member to the centralportion of the other diaphragm and normally non-biased with respect tothe diaphragms and increasingly tensioned by movement of one diaphragmrelative to the other in either direction, an electro-magnetic means forvibrating the last named diaphragm and for vibrating the first nameddiaphragm as modified by the vibration of the said member whereby thesaid diaphragms are vibrated at different and characteristic toneproducing rates.

' GEORGE I. LEWIS.

